


All that I'm Living For, All that I'm Dying For

by IntrovertedWriter



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-27 23:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10818777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IntrovertedWriter/pseuds/IntrovertedWriter
Summary: There was no other word that Oikawa Tooru detested more than talent. A natural degree of ability and aptitude.There were few instances where one could truly apply such a term to an individual sincerely and unanimously.  Unfortunately, such a term had always seemed to be linked to his name. Kageyama Tobio. His underclassman at Kitagawa Daiichi. A prodigy, they called him. A genius, others dubbed him. But it all came down to the same word. Talented. The kid was talented. And he couldn't hate him more if he tried.





	All that I'm Living For, All that I'm Dying For

**Author's Note:**

> Eh, not much to say here, to be honest. I have to say that Oikawa has always been this character that I've liked and definitely felt curious towards, especially in the way I interpret him to hold himself. Especially when put against a character like Kageyama. Hence, I felt like I wanted to play around with that a bit. I wanted to play with that as well as the idea of effort vs talent. This was the result. Because it is very based on my opinions and thoughts and the way I interpret the characters to some degree, it can be VERY OOC so bear with that patiently, please.

There was no other word that Oikawa Tooru detested more than talent. A natural degree of ability and aptitude. A word full of implied meaning that should have left oneself feeling nothing but pride and accomplishment. If it were not for the fact that it was so carelessly tossed and thrown about the gym to several players except himself. 

That was not to say that Oikawa Tooru had never been called talented. In fact, that'd be a statement far from the truth. Coaches, players... many bathed him in praise, calling his abilities nothing less than the result of innate talent. But the very word that any first year would take readily and greedily from their coach's mouth like a thirsty animal did not arouse the same sense of amateur arrogance and pride that it should have. He knew all too well, that that word, full of its implied meaning, was nothing more than a lie. He knew they lacked sincerity the moment people's eyes would wander about the gym, for their eyes sought the very person they thought of when they thought of the word. Talented. There were few instances where one could truly apply such a term to an individual sincerely and unanimously. Unfortunately, such a term had always seemed to be linked to his name. Kageyama Tobio. His underclassman at Kitagawa Daiichi. 

A prodigy, they called him. A genius, others dubbed him. But it all came down to the same word. Talented. The kid was talented. And he couldn't hate him more if he tried. Tobio-chan, he called him in turn. A childish name to soothe inferiority. A name opposing the word others associated with his very name. Talented. 

It was infuriating, the very word. Talent. A natural degree of ability and aptitude. Its very meaning washed away everything else, it seemed. It washed away years of blood, sweat, and tears. It washed away his very being. For that very reason, Kageyama's pleas to help him develop further were short-lived. They were shot down before they even took flight. 

"Please, show me how to do a jump serve," Kageyama had pleaded. 

"What's this, you want to hear my motto?" 

"That's not it, I want you to show me how to do a serve toss," he'd explained as if he hadn't heard him the first time. 

"If you're going to hit it, hit it until it breaks." 

"Is that so? Could you do a jump serve-" 

"I don't want to! Why would I, with my own hands, help someone who will only be a threat in the future?" And he was. He was a threat to everything Oikawa stood for. It was a battle of talent and effort. One that he wouldn't stand to lose. 

"You are an idiot." After all, talent was but a container. He could work as hard as he could, rivaling him in his effort but the size would never change. It would only hold so much water and no more. Or so he had thought. To be young and talented...it was like having wings. However, he figured that he'd clip Kageyama's before they could take flight. 

He thought he had left him behind, the water rising to the ledge of the container about to overflow. Talent was finite, he told himself. The higher he went, the more players like himself he'd come across. Those dubbed talented. The higher the rise, the higher the fall, he figured. He'd give up when he saw that what he had was not unique to him. And he wasn't all that wrong. With the years, a new name resurged. A new word. It wasn't talented, nor genius. It wasn't even a name like Tobio-chan. It was King of the Court. As it turned out, it wasn't the lack of motivation and sense of self that seemed to present an impending doom upon Kageyama. It was egocentrism. 

The next time his name came up, it didn't resurge linked with the egocentric attitude he had become a synonym of like Oikawa had hoped for. He had yet to fall. Instead, his name became attached to a team. Karasuno. The flightless crows of Karasuno, they called them. Oikawa found sweet irony in this. The flightless crows would clip his wings in the end, surely. But that was not the case. They rose. 

He was curious enough to ask his coach for a practice match. He figured it'd be a sight to see. It'd be sweet to see how the mighty had fallen, or, if that was not the case, what he was up against. but if there was one thing Oikawa seemed to have forgotten was that Kageyama didn't disappoint. That afternoon, as he walked into the gym, the flightless crows of Karasuno flapped their wings for the first time. Oikawa could even say that he saw them fly past in the form of the volleyball he missed. The one that scored the winning point. He could see his teammates being upset, but all that he could do was smile. Everything was finite. Talent was finite, and luck was, too. There was nothing that cunning observation and perseverance couldn't withhold. Nothing. He knew Kageyama had gotten better, knew that it was naive to think otherwise. Though he refused to believe so, deep down, he knew that it was a matter of time and the clock was ticking. 

And so he worked. He went through the motions over and over again. He practiced until his limbs were sore, until Iwaizumi's eyes became alive with the slightest hint of concern and his coach admonished him, claiming he'd hurt himself. He laughed it off. 

"Coach, you worry too much," he'd say,"I am the team's captain! No injury could keep me from the game too long, especially with the Inter-high coming up." 

"Still, while I admire your dedication, you should take it easy," was his response, "No one is invincible." Except he was. Though reasonably speaking, he knew he wasn't invincible, something was clear. Every game had a winner and a loser. A victory to match a defeat. And he knew that he wouldn't be the latter. 

Oikawa Tooru was hardly ever wrong. And in this respect, he wasn't, either. Aoba Johsai beat Karasuno. He watched as they stood in shock and slowly turned as white as a sheet. He watched their faces morph into one of insurmountable pain when they finally realized the very same thing he had always known. In a volleyball match, there was only one victor and one loser. They were the loser this time.a fact that displayed itself flamboyantly in Kageyama's face. The king had fallen. And Oikawa wondered why he did not feel as if this was the end. 

And indeed, it was not the end. Oikawa Tooru was hardly ever wrong, a fact that had come back to bite him in the ass. He had known that one day, Kageyama would beat him. And as luck would have it, this day was today. He had counted on effort beating talent. But what he hadn't counted on was talent and effort. Talent. A natural degree of ability and aptitude. Effort. A vigorous or determined attempt. Together, they made one victorious. Invincible.

**Author's Note:**

> ...And so that was that. Anyhow, let me know your thoughts! I'd love to hear them.


End file.
